Sunday, November 21, 2010

Is Writing Fun?

Ok, so the title seems a little bit obvious. If we didn't enjoy writing we wouldn't do it. It takes too much time and effort to do it for the money (if we're lucky to get any at all), and there are certainly plenty of other things I can think of to do with my time (play Super Mario, read, play some more Super Mario.) Elana Johnson wrote a fabulous post that got me thinking about why I write.

Elana talked about the common phrase, "Treating writing like it's your job." Meaning, you have to be there and do it every single day. You need to have that time set aside for it, and do it no matter what. But she said that she doesn't believe in it. I don't either.

I have goals. I want to have my WIP polished and ready to go in time for the Utah Arts Council Writing Contest in May. However, I've been stuck on my rough draft, not sure where or how to take it (I have my characters in quite a pickle.)

I don't write every day. I work full time at a job that does pay me. I am a full time mom in the evenings when my husband is as school. I have to have a clean apartment or I go bonkers. I have to have clean clothes or I go naked. I'm busy. I'm lucky to get a couple of writing hours in on the weekends. Sometimes I can sneak it in during the week. And then I get stressed. I want to write, but I don't know what to write. I want to write, but I don't have time to write. As the stress mounts, my creativity plummets. I've realized that the more I put pressure on myself to write at every available chance, the more I'm not able to write at all! This is a frustrating cycle of disappointment, and certainly takes all the fun out of what should be something I love to do.  

So, tell me: How do you keep yourself from sucking all the fun and creativity out of your writing? How do you accomplish goals without stressing yourself out?

2 comments:

  1. I can't keep the two apart, the stress of creativity. I'm thinking Van Gogh without the mutilation but still, the pinch is there.

    And writing is HARD, btw. Rewarding, yes, but after a piece of your soul is on paper, it doesn't detach easily.

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  2. I think when I'm writing a zone out...sort of like half daydreaming to create a story. Maybe that's just me though.

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